


Strong

by hischarmingcompanion



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Angst, Claire-centric, F/M, Post-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4144386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hischarmingcompanion/pseuds/hischarmingcompanion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Home. There were no more dinosaurs. No more screams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong

_She was scared. Terrified. More terrified than she’d ever been in her life. She couldn’t tell how far behind her the T-Rex was. She’s not sure she even wanted to know. She cursed herself for not having another pair of shoes at work that were easier to run in and thought of how these heels could literally be the death of her. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t let herself go to that place. So instead she focused on the path ahead of her, tinted red by the glow of the flare. She thought she might go deaf from the noises behind her and the screaming ahead of her. Her nephews screams. So much screaming. She wanted it to stop. Stop. STOP!_

Claire bolted upright in her bed, observing her surroundings. She calmed her breathing enough to realise where she was. Home. There were no more dinosaurs. No more screams. She looked at sleeping figure that lay next to her and smiled. Thankfully, she hadn’t been loud enough to wake Owen. Keeping quiet, she slides out of bed and out of their bedroom. _Their bedroom._ She was still getting used to the sound of that. Still, she liked it.

She reveled in turning corner after corner of her apartment without the feeling of something lurking behind her. _I’m home_ , she kept telling herself. _I’m home._ Flipping the kitchen light on, she poured herself a cup of water and sat down at the table, collecting her thoughts. _Owen._ They’d decided to start dating again after Isla Nublar. She wouldn’t have said yes, otherwise, but tragedy can do strange things to a person. It can make you see what’s really important. They weren’t two months into their relationship when they decided to move in together. Well, decided is a strong word. He started to stay over at her house every once and a while and one day, he just didn’t leave.

She decided that maybe she would stay downstairs a while longer and only realised how long a while was when she saw the sun start to rise out their front window. She rubbed the fatigue from her eyes and wandered back upstairs, laying her head on the pillow just in time for Owen to wake up and place a kiss on her forehead. _It’s alright_ , she thought. She’d sleep tomorrow

-

Maybe it wouldn’t be as easy to fall asleep as Claire had thought. She couldn’t risk it. She didn’t want to relive that horrible night all over again. She just knew it would come back. So she went downstairs, got her cup of water, and sat at her table. Then, something inside her made her grab a piece of paper and a pen. She then began to write down various species of dinosaur. Each one inside the park.

_Dimorphodon._

_Apatosaurus._

She didn’t know why it helped or why it even comforted her, but it did.

_Pteranodon._

_Velociraptor._

With every name, she felt less tired. Less burdened by the past.

_Triceratops._

_Tyrannosaurus Rex._

And that’s exactly what she needed right now. She needed to stay awake. And so she kept writing.

-

It became a nightly routine. She would lay in bed with Owen until he fell asleep and then she would sneak downstairs to her cup of water and her table. She had been doing this continuously for seven nights and she didn’t even do anything during the night. Eventually, she ended up sitting in that chair and doing nothing else. Maybe it was the fatigue, but Claire was content with it. Her nightly trips downstairs became a comfort to her. The first few nights she had felt so exhausted, but eventually that feeling faded away. She was fine. _I’m fine._

“I’m fine.”

Sometimes, during the day, she felt a little out of it. She had caught herself staring at nothing more times than she would’ve liked. But no one seemed to notice. Everyone was preoccupied with the ten thousand lawsuits raining down on Jurassic World and Masrani Global. She always made herself look extra awake when Owen visited her for lunch.

She didn’t know at what point this became something that she was hiding from Owen, but it was apparent that it’s what this was turning into. She wasn’t sure she wanted it to be a secret. She didn’t like hiding things from Owen, especially things concerning Jurassic World. They had promised each other before going on their second date that if they began to have any problem related to the island than they would immediately tell the other. So why couldn’t she bring herself to tell him this? _Because even you don’t know what you’re doing._ She brushed off the thought and took another sip of water.

Tomorrow. She’d tell him tomorrow.

-

One of the advantages of staying awake all night was being able to watch Owen wake up. He always crinkled his nose a bit before opening his eyes. She’d never call him out on it, though. “Good Morning,” she whispered, as his eyes adjusted to the morning light. He smiled slightly and brushed his finger across her nose.

“Good Morning.” He tilted his head. “You’re never up before me.”

_I don’t want him to spend his whole day worrying._ “Big meeting today. I have to go in early,” she lied, standing up and making her way over to the closet. Something stopped her, though. White spots everywhere. Maybe she stood up too fast. She heard Owen somewhere off to the side. She couldn’t quite place him.

_“Claire? Are you okay?”_ His voice seemed echoed.

_“Yeah, I’m fine. I just-_

-

Everything was blurry, but the image soon corrected it itself. It was their bedroom. _Was it?_ It was. She caught herself wondering what time it was. Was she missing work? Why was she sore everywhere? Why was her hand warmer than the rest of her?

“Claire?” Sitting beside the bed, holding her hand, was Owen.

“Why am I in bed? I’m supposed to be at work.” She made a move to leave the bed, but he gently pushed her back down toward the pillows. She was confused. “What happened?” She asked, tentatively.

“Claire, have you been having trouble sleeping?” _How did he know? Did I tell him?_ “You passed out. About an hour ago,” he told her, as if he’d read her mind. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. “You’ve been looking really tired lately, but I wanted to let you come to me if you were having a problem. Have you really not been sleeping at all this past week?”

She was so exhausted, so run down, that she couldn’t help it. She just let go. Gripping his hand as tight as she could, she began to sob. “Everytime I close my eyes, I see it. I hear it. I hear the screams. And I can’t anymore. I ju- I just ca-.” She couldn’t continue. It was killing her enough to speak about it, but she it like she was reliving it all over again.

Owen took her up in his arms and rocked her back and forth. She just closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. It was nice not to feel so strong for once and just to be held. She held on to that moment for as long as it would last. She felt him place a kiss on her forehead and whisper, “From now on, we tell each other everything. If one of us is scared, we hold the other’s hand through it. No secrets, okay? Let me help you.”

Her voice was shaky and she didn’t even know if he even heard her, but she still whispered back softly.

_“Okay.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually really proud of this one. I've been working on it for like three hours and I'm so going to bed, but still I'm really proud of this one. Hearts! -Emma


End file.
